Czechs team up with Taiwan for Ukraine reconstruction

The Czech and Taiwanese governments signed an agreement on Friday to work together to help reconstruction work in Ukraine, with a senior Czech envoy praising Taipei as a “great ally” despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
Ukraine has won broad sympathy in Taiwan after Russia’s invasion, with many Taiwanese seeing parallels between Ukraine’s situation and the threat Taipei’s government says it faces from China, which claims the island as its own territory.
Taiwan has donated more than $100 million for humanitarian relief, and joined in Western-led sanctions against Russia. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine “a special military operation”.
The agreement between Taiwan and the Czech Republic, signed by the de facto ambassadors in each other’s capitals, will see the two working together on rebuilding water and energy systems.
Visiting Taipei for the signing ceremony, Tomas Kopecny, the Czech government envoy for Ukraine reconstruction, said his country had “such a strong connection with Taiwan”.